Tiffany's 3Q Profit Up

New York City, Tiffany & Co.'s third-quarter earnings more than tripled on strong sales growth and a hefty gain on the sale and leaseback of its Tokyo flagship store.

The retailer said Friday that net income climbed to $98.9 million in the three months ended Oct. 31 from $29.1 million a year ago.

Sales increased 18% to $627.3 million from $531.8 million a year earlier, helped by a 9% rise in global sales at stores open at least one year.

Same-store sales rose 8% at its U.S. stores in the quarter. U.S. retail sales rose 12%, while international sales rose 22%.

For the first nine months of the year, net earnings were $185.5 million compared with $113.4 million in the year-ago period. Sales rose to $1.88 billion for the nine-month period, compared with $1.6 billion last year.